Phonograph-cabinet



F. C. WHITE.

PHONOGRAPH CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED APII.30. 191s.

1,347,067, Patented July 20, 1920.

FRANK C. W'HITE, 0F MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT.

PHONO GRAPH-CABINET.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented July 20,1920.

Application led April 30, 1918. Serial No. 231,576.

To all lwhom z't ma? concern:

Be it known t at I, FRANK C. lVrH'rn, a citizen of the United States of America,

residing at Meriden, Connecticut, have inf* y or just before, the machine begins to play.

Heretofore, it has been necessary for the operator, after placing a new record on the turn-table and starting the machine, to close down the cover by hand. Because this is a bothersome detail, it is often neglected. By my invention, this closing is automatically effected at the beginning of the playing of each record.

In the accompanying drawings: Y

Figure 1 conventionally shows the upper part of a talking machine cabinet, the same being shown partly in sectionand partly in elevation and representing therein only such parts as are essential to a clear understandin of my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a detail, namely the brake illustrating a small portion of the turn-table and one corner of the cabinet.

1 represents the top lid of a phonograph cabinet the same being hinged to the cabinet at 2. 3 is a bellows. 4 is a link connecting the movable backboard of the bellows 3 with the lid 1. 5 is the usual turn-table upon which the record to be played is mounted, the same being driven by any well known or appropriate motor, not shown.l 6 is a latch pressed by spring 7 toward the link 4 so that the nose of the latch may engage the link 4 in the notch 8 when the cover 1 has been raised to approximately the position indicated by the dotted line, Fig. 1. 9 is a duct for admitting air into the bellows 3 when the latter expands. 10 is a check valve to prevent the escape of air through the duct 9. 11 is a regulator valve for controlling the size of the duct 9. 12 is a channel leading from the interior of the bellows 3 into a pneumatic 13. 14 is a back check valve for said channel 12 toprevent the return of air'- through thelatter into the bellows 3. 15 is a spring normally operating to collapse the pneumatic 13. 16 is a latch.

17 is a Spring for normally moving the same in a direction to engage and hold the pneumatic 13 distended at the proper time. 18 is a shoulder on the movable backboard of the pneumatic 13 to be engaged by the latch 16. 19 is an angular offset secured to the backboard 13 at or near the point where it is hinged to the stationary backboard of said bellows. 20 is a link between the latch 6 and the offset 19, the said link sliding through a hole in said offset. 21 is an adjusting nutl on the end of the link 20 which may be properly positioned to cause the retraction of the link 20 and the withdrawing of the latch 6 at the proper moment. 22 represents the usual brake for manual engagement and control, the function of which brake is to engage the turn-table 5 to stop the same whenever desired. Ordinarily, the inner end of the brake 22 engages with the inside of a depending annular flange'on the underside of the turn-table 5, and in the present instance, it 'may be assumed that the brake 22, which is conventionally shown, is of that type. At the lower end of the shaft 23 on which the brake is mounted, is a lever arm 24. 25 is a link between the latch 16 and a stud 26 on the lever 24, said link 25 sliding freely through a hole or passage in the stud 26. 27 is an adjusting nut on the end of the link 25. When the brake 22 is manually moved into the position shown in solid lines, Fig. 2, the turn-table is released so that it may turn. When in this position, the lever 24 is swung so as to pull back the latch 16, thus releasing the pneumatic 13. When the pneumatic 13 is released, the spring 15 Will cause the collapse thereof,thc air therein flowing out through a duct 28 which may be regulated bya valve 29 to control the speed of collapse. The collapse of the pneumatic 13 causes the retraction of the latch 6 from engagement with the link 4. This releases the support for the cover 1 which may then descend by gravity at a retarded speed which may be regulated by the size of the air admission duct 9 leading into the bellows 3. Since the bellows 3 can expand only with a relatively retarded motion, it follows that the cover 1 slowly descends and closes quietly. lVhen the cover is closed, all of the parts will appear as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. When the piece being played is completed, the operator lifts will free the latch G so that it in turn willl engage with the link 4in the notch 8 when the cover has been raised to the fully open position indicated by the aforesaid dotted line in Fig. 1. The parts are then held in that position to enable the operator to change the record. lVhen a new record has been placed in position on table 5, and the brake 22 is again thrown olf the pneumatic 13 will collapse retracting latch 6 so that the cover will descend and close slowly and noiselessly.

30 is a push button accessible at the outside of the cabinet and which may be connected by a rod 31 to the latch G so that when the user desires to close the cabinet without releasing the brake 22, he may do so by merely pushing in on the said button 30 so as to manually release the cover supporting latch 6 so that said cover will slowly descend and quietly close as previously described, excepting that when the instrument is thus operated, the turn-table 5 will stand still.

32 is asafety valve for the bellows 3, the function of which is to release the air therein after the pneumatic 13 has been fully opened, which by reason of the fact that the bellows 3 is of larger capacity than the pneumatic 13, will occur before the bellows 3 has been fully collapsed. A suitable spring 33 is provided for the valve 32 whereby the escape of air from the bellows 3 will be sufficient to resist it to guarantee the full opening of the pneumatic 13.

It should be understood that I have shown and described my invention in only one conventional form, although said form is the preferred one in many respects. I wish it understood that I contemplate that a variety of modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention.

In operation, the mechanism may be so regulated that the cover will close at such a speed that ample time will be given the operator after the turn-table has started to permit it to get up to the desired speed before the stylus is placed thereon.

What I claim is:

1. A cabinet for a phonograph including a cover movable from a closed to an open position and vice versa, and means for retarding the closing movement' of the cover to cause the same to close slowly and quietly, means for permitting said phonograph to start, said means being associated with said retarding means to put the latter into operation when said means for permitting starting is operated.

2. In a cabinet for a phonograph and the like, a hinged cover, a bellows, with means' of connection between said cover and said bellows whereby the opening of the cover acts upon the bellows in one direction, and whereby the closing of the cover acts upon the bellows in an opposite direction, and means for retarding the movement of the bellows in the last mentioned direction to cause said cover to close slowly and quietly, means for permitting said phonograph to start, said means being associated with said retarding means to put the latter into operation when said means for permitting starting is operated.

3. In a cabinet for a talking machine and the like, a hinged cover, a bellows, with means of connection between said cover and said bellows whereby the opening of the cover acts upon the bellows in one direction, and whereby the closing of the cover acts' upon the bellows in an opposite direction, and means for retarding the movement of the bellows in the last mentioned direction to cause said cover to close slowly and quietly, a latch for holding the cover in the open position, and manually controllable means in operative connection with said latch for permitting said phonograph to start, for releasing said latch and permitting the cover to close when the phonograph starts for releasing said latch to permit said cover to close.

4. In a cabinet for a talking machine and the like, a hinged cover, a bellows, with means of connection between said cover and said bellows whereby the opening of the cover acts upon the bellows in one direction, and whereby the closing of the cover acts upon the bellows in an opposite direction7 and means for retarding the movement of the' bellows in the last mentioned direction to cause said cover to close slowly and quietly, a latch for holding the-cover in the open position, and an automatic means for releasing said latch including a pneumatic in communication with the interior of said bellows and coperating therewith, a brake, and a connection between said brake and said pneumatic for holding the latter in a position to permit the cover to remain open, the releasing of said brake releasing said pneumatic to in turn release the means for holding the cover open whereby the latter may close.

5. In a phonograph, a rotatable record supporting means, a brake, a cabinet, a hinged cover overstanding said record supporting means, and automatic means for controlling the closing of the cover whereby the latter will close slowly and softly, said automatic means being started in operation by the movement of said brake.

6. In a phonograph, a rotatable record supporting means, a brake, a cabinet, a hinged cover overstanding said record supporting means, and automatic means for controlling the closing of the cover whereby the' latter will close slowly and softly, said automatic means being started in operation by the movement of said brake, and manually controllable means also cooperating with said automatic means for causing the movement of the latter independently of the movement of the brake.

7. In a phonograph or the like, a rotatable record supporting means, a brake, a cabinet including a hinged coverfoverstanding said record supporting means, means for retarding the closing of the cover to permit the same to close slowly and softly, said means including' a bellows having a valved inlet, a link between the cover and the movable part 0j said bellows whereby the closing of the cover will expand the bellows and vice versa,

a latch for engaging said link to hold Saidy cover open, means for withdrawing said latch comprising a pneumatic having a valved outlet, the interior oli said bellows` being in communication with the interior of said pneumatic, whereby the collapse ofthe former will distend the latter, a connection between a movable part of the pneumatic and the latch to withdraw the latter when the pneumatic collapses, and means controlled by said brake for holding said pneumatic distended while the cover is open, the movement of said brake releasing said pneumatic to permit the latter to release the mechanism to permit the cover to close.

8. In a phonograph, a rotatable record supporting means, a starting and stopping device, a cabinet including a hinged cover overstanding the record supporting means, auto-pneumatic mechanism intermediate the cover and said device and releasable by the latter for controlling the closing movement of the cover whereby the same will close slowly and softly.

9. In a cabinet for a self-playing musical instrument, a record support, a swinging cover arranged to close by gravity, releasable means for holding said cover open, means for checking the descent of the cover whereby the same will close slowly and quietly when said means for holding the cover open is released, means for permitting said record support to move, said means being associated with said checking means, ,whereby said checking means and record support may be controlled from a single point.

10. In a phonograph, a cabinet, a cover for the cabinet a rotatable record support, means for holding the cover in one position, means for controlling the closing movement of the cover whereby the latter will close slowly, and means associated with said record support for releasing said holding means after the record support be ins to rotate,

FRANI C. WHITE. 

